Sea kayak paddle two at port S

Launched at glorious T beach, not at dawn, but fairly early. Wind was light from NW and a slight ripple enlivened the water's surface.

Launching - T beach

Food & water break. Feeling fabulous

Other  Sea kayaks!

Being my second outing, gear arrangements went more smoothly, as did launching. My first effort at getting into the kayak was deeply unsettling, so I Googled for info on my time off. Experienced kayakers recommended stealing the kayak in deeper water, sit down first, then draw your legs in, using the pale light a tight-rope walker. It seemed so ungainly, straddling the boat and leaving your legs flailing about, but ... it worked! No wobbles, no risk of injury, we were off. We headed north along the shore, into the tide flow  just metres from the mangroves. When I got game, I dodged inside of outlying mangrove trees and stirred large flathead from their lies. Note to self: pack fishing tackle.

In C. Bay, 1.5-2 miles out, I skimmed the shoreline in a sweep to the left until I was heading SW. Altho' the surface chop was only 4-6" I did get a taste of how hard it would be to negotiate a beam sea. My god, it was like loosing contact with the water, as the 'yak rolled from windward to leeward. Eeek!

The paddle back towards LTP was pleasant. Full sun, gentle wind and "sea" on the starboard bow. But it never slowed us, we were literally skimming along, so  effortlessly. I can  see how people get hooked into paddling long distances.

In the channel, it got boring! The water glassed off, the wind eased behind trees, nature gave way to man made crap; jetties, boats, shops, houses crammed onto the water's edge, manicured parks. I cleared the built-up area and found a tiny sand beach. Time to stop for necessary sustenance.

The voyage ended back at T beach when an unbelievable, to my mind, thing happened. As I pulled towards the shore, coming in on the reverse of my own original trajectory  was a group of sea kayaks. Nine kayaks carrying ten paddlers, one timber, six fibreglass. All sleek and slender with beautiful upswept bows. "Just friends ... we go somewhere different each weekend". Beautiful!